Light fixture



y 8, 1965 F. E. HOQPER 3,184,595

LIGHT FIXTURE Filed March 5, 1965 IN VENTOR.

FRED E. HOOPER BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,184,595 LIGHT FEXTURE Fred E. Hooper, 272 Elm St, Biddeford, Maine Filed Mar. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 262399 3 Claims. (Cl. 240-128) The present invention relates to light fixtures and particularly to means for detachably connecting the shades to the housing thereof.

A common type of light fixture has a housing attachable directly or indirectly to a wall or ceiling and having a month which receives an annular shoulder of the shade. The mouth has a series of members threaded therethrough so that each may be advanced to extend under the shoulder or withdrawn. While many such fix tures are in use, the use of such threaded members, as the means detachably connecting the shades to the housings, is open to substantial objections. Such objections are due to the difficulty of holding such shades as large bowls against a ceiling-anchored housing with one hand while turning the threaded members, one after the other, into holding position with the other, the difficulty of turning the members when their threads are fouled, the difficulty in telling whether or not the members are all in holding position or in a position in which the shade is released except by trial and error, and the time required to attach or release a shade, even under favorable conditions.

The general objective of the present invention is to provide a secure, resiliently maintained connection between the housing of a light fixture and the shade that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy and positive in operation.

In accordance with the invention, this objective is attained by providing the mouth of the housing with a series of circumferentially spaced apertures and a resilient contracting ring, preferably in the form of a thin, wide band, which encircles the mouth and has a plurality of elements, each extending freely through an appropriate one of the apertures and under the shoulder of the shade with the ring ends overlapping and including portions engageable, between thumb and forefinger, for example, to enable them to be drawn towards each other, thus to expand the ring and simultaneously withdraw all the elements positively from their shoulder engaging positions.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an illus trative embodiment of the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a light fixture in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section, on an increased scale, through the housing and the shouldered portion of the shade,

FIGURE 3 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, perspective View of the mouth of the housing, and

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of the overlapping end portions of the resilient encircling band.

The light fixture shown in the drawings includes a housing for the lamp socket 111 attachable directly to a ceiling and a shade in the form of a globe 12 covering the lamp 13.

3,l4,55 Patented May 18, 1965 The housing 18 may be of any type that has a mouth 14 to receive within it the portion 15 of the globe provided with an outwardly disposed shoulder 16, shown in the drawings as established by an annular channel 17.

In accordance with the invention, a relatively thin, wide band 18 encircles the mouth 14 With end portions 19 and 2t overlapping. The mouth 14 has a series of circumferentlally spaced and circumferentially extending slots 21 through each of which extends a headed member 22 secured to the band 18 and extending inwardly therefrom. The band 18 is of resilient stock and is a contracting ring thus to have its normal position that shown in FIGURE 2 and in full lines in FIGURE 3 in which the members 22. are positioned to underlie the shoulder 16 and hold the globe l2 securely in place.

In practice, the band end portions 19 and 2d are of reduced width, each being shown as approximately onehalf the width of the band. The end portions 19 and 20 have outwardly disposed grips 19A and 20A, respectively, and each of these extends transversely of the end portion of which the other is a part. The grips 19A and 20A are engageable to be drawn together easily by the thumb and forefinger of one hand thus to expand the band to so retract the members 22 as to disengage them from the shoulder in. The other hand is thus free to support the globe 12 so that its installation or removal may be effected with maximum ease and convenience and with assurance that the shade is either securely locked in place or completely freed from the housing.

I claim:

1. In a light fixture of the type that is for use With a shade having an external annular attaching shoulder, a housing member having a mouth to receive said shoulder, said mouth having a series of circumferentially spaced apertures, and a resilient contracting ring biased inwardly and encircling said mouth with its ends overlapping, said ring including a plurality of elements extending freely through said apertures and under said shoulder, the ring ends including outwardly projecting portions for digital engagement in drawing said ends towards each other to a predetermined extent to expand said ring, the expansion of said ring being such as to withdraw said elements from under said shoulder Without withdrawing them through said apertures.

2. In a light fixture of the type that is for use with a shade having an external annular attaching shoulder, a housing member having a mouth to receive said shoulder, said mouth having a series of circumferentially spaced apertures, and a resilient contracting ring biased inwardly and encircling said mouth with its ends overlapping, said ring being in the form of a band and including a p1u rality of elements extending freely inwardly through said apertures and including heads under said shoulder, the ring ends including outwardly projecting portions for digital engagement in drawing said ends towards each other to expand said ring, the expansion of said ring being limited by the engagement of said heads with said mouth but such as to withdraw said elements from under said shoulder.

3. In a light fixture of the type that is for use with a shade having an external annular attaching shoulder, a

housing member having a mouth to receive said shoulder, said mouth having a series of circumferentially spaced a 3 d apertures, and a resilient contracting ring biased in extent sufiicient to withdraw said elements from under wardly and encircling said mouth with its ends oversaid shoulder. I

lapping, said ring being in the form of a band and including a plurality of elements extending freely through said References Cimd y the Examiner apertures and under said shoulder, the ring ends being of 5 UNITED STATES A S reduced Width, the combined Width of said ends being approximately the width of said band throughout the 5221 remainder of its length, said ends including outwardly projecting portions for digital engagement in drawing NORTON ANSHER Primary Examiner said ends towards each other to expand said ring to aii 10 

1. IN A LIGHT FIXTURE OF THE TYPE THAT IS FOR USE WITH A SHADE HAVING AN EXTERNAL ANNULAR ATTACHING SHOULDER, A HOUSING MEMBER HAVING A MOUTH TO RECEIVE SAID SHOULDER, SAID MOUTH HAVING A SERIES OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED APERTURES, AND A RESILIENT CONTRACTING RING BIASED INWARDLY AND ENCIRCLING SAID MOUTH WITH ITS ENDS OVERLAPPING, SAID RING INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ELEMENTS EXTENDING FREELY THROUGH SAID APERTURES AND UNDER SAID SHOULDER, THE RING ENDS INCLUDING OUTWARDLY PROJECTING PORTIONS FOR DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT IN DRAWING SAID ENDS TOWARDS EACH OTHER TO A PREDETERMINED EXTENT TO EXPAND SAID RING, THE EXPANSION OF SAID RING BEING SUCH AS TO WITHDRAW SAID ELEMENTS FROM UNDER SAID SHOULDER WITHOUT WITHDRAWING THEM THROUGH SAID APERTURES. 